Things are Blooming at SN...

Hello everybody!

It seems that this time of month I always get the urge to visit one of my most favorite places... Sweet November Land. Perhaps you will join me on this little journey to see what magical new places and characters we can find?

I don't know about you, but I've been feeling like this winter is never going to end. The cold, snow, ice and grey days are beginning to wear me down. Hopefully we can leave that all behind as we step through the veil and into some Sweet November Land sunshine.
Hmmm... so far it's looking like we may be out of luck as things seem just as cold and snowy here too. But since things here have a way of transforming right before your very eyes, it is worth searching a bit further. So over the hills we go, down through the misty vale until we reach the edge of a dark, dense wood. I don't think we've ever come this way yet... do we dare travel onward? Absolutely! So into the thick trees we go and almost as soon as we do the atmosphere begins to change. The air here is warmer and sweeter and the snow disappears from beneath our feet, so we keep on walking. Finally as we near the edge of this strange wood, rays of sunshine filter in to warm our faces. Who could be behind this sudden change?
The answer to that question just so happens to be resting sweetly on a mushroom only a stones throw from where we stand. It's a small sprite that I've never seen before. She says that she goes by the name of Bloom and she has a very special gift that comes with a very special job. For wherever Bloom goes springtime follows. So she, along with her three siblings, travels all over the world doing her part to help with the changing of the seasons. What a life that must be to always enjoy the mild temps and gentle breezes, the soft sunshine and fresh smell of growing things. Little Bloom just shrugs and says that it is all she has ever known so she has nothing to compare it to.
Still after all this winter, I think she has it pretty good! ;)

Bloom also has some springtime candy to share with one of her lucky new friends... take a look...
The Bloom candy kit includes; one Sweet November Bloom rubber stamp, ten 6x6 sheets of My Mind's Eye Happier paper, small Studio G acrylic stamp, Prima flowers, Kaiser Craft pearls, ribbon, twine, buttons, butterfly punch outs, four envelopes, four card blanks and my card.

All you have to do for a chance to win the candy is leave a comment on this post. If you link to the candy on your own blog that is great and much appreciated but not a requirement... I want everyone to be able to play along. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. I will ship the candy anywhere in the world so everyone is encouraged to play! :)

The candies will stay open through Friday, February 3rd and I will announce the winners on Saturday, February 4th. And just so you know... all of the new February stamps will be available for purchase on Friday at the ATS store.

Alrighty, now be sure to visit the Sweet November Gals' blogs! Sammi, Nancy, and Marion all have their creativity in full bloom today! :)
Once again... instead of using random generator I will be printing out names and tossing them in a hat SO if you leave comments for the SN gals on their blogs, you will get an extra name in the hat for each one that you do... this will up your chances of winning the candy... fun, fun, fun! :)

That's a wrap on day one of our February SN previews... I hope you have had fun meeting this new Sweet November cutie and come back tomorrow to see who else will be popping out of the woods!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- My Mind's Eye (6x6 Happier)
stamps- Sweet November (Bloom and Mushroom set), CC Designs (Woodland Label)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
CC Designs Butterfly cutter
Zva pearls
The Twinery twine
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
American Crafts knock outs border punch
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- YR14, YR18, E07
eyes- YG01, YG25, YG67
clothes- YG25, YG67, G29, YG01, BG01, BG07, BG18, RV0000, RV00, RV10, RV52, E40, E41, 0, YR15, YR16, YR18

Sweet November Spotlight on Sammi!

Hello!

Are you ready for some February Sweet November previews? I know! I can't believe it is that time already either! But before we start that all up again, I want to shine the Sweet November spotlight on February's very special SN Guest Gal... Sammi Betbeder!

One look at Sammi's mad coloring skills with Copic markers and it is no surprise to find out that she is the owner/operator of her own Aussie based store... Mad for Markers! Yep, I've been a follower and admirer of Sammi's for quite some time now and she has always had quite the way with markers and her card designing is just as impressive. Her imagination always shines through on everything that she creates and come to find out... she is also quite artistic in other ways as well. Recently Sammi has started sharing some of her own drawings and designs on her blog and I'm sure that this is the start of a whole new adventure for her! :)

Now it's time for Sammi to answer the Sweet November questionnaire... which I always look forward to reading!

1) What color do feel represents your personality and why?

Purple - It is the colour for passion, romance and sensitivity. It is mysterious... a mixture of coolness and warmth (just like me) lol!

2) Is your style of dress/ home decor similar to your style of card making?

Perhaps... I am not sure of what my "style" is totally as it changes around a lot... bits of this and that... I guess that is the same for my dress and home as well as my card-making! lol

3) What one thing always puts you in a good mood?

Mmm... my lovely hubby, Guy, my copics, coffee and chatting with good friends/family - oops...was supposed to be only one thing! sorry!

4) If you could visit any time in history when would it be?

I would love to be alive at the time of Jesus' life and the early church... I think it would have been an exciting time!

5) If you were a mythical creature ie. fairy, elf, mermaid, troll, wizard, witch etc., what kind would you be and why?

Mmm, hard one there... I think I would be a fairy- to be pretty, dainty, graceful, mischievous. ;)

Bonus question

6) If you are a fellow Gleek, which character from McKinley High do you most identify with?

I'd love to say Rachel, as I would love to sing that well... but in reality I guess the character I am most like is Emma- sweet & nice (well that's what people think hehe) and would do anything to help others... and whilst I am not totally obsessive compulsive like she is, I so have "some" obsessive inclinations!

LOL, it's always nice to meet another 'slightly' OCD crafter... great answers Sammi!

Check out the stunning card that Sammi created featuring the ever dreamy Princess Isadora. I can't get over how much like actual satin her dress looks... amazing! And the tree branch that she drew and colored... it nearly leaves me speechless. WOW! The over-all layout design may be a simple one but it is the scene that Sammi created which totally transports the viewer to another place and time. Love it! So for my CASE of Sammi's card I just had to ink up a Sweet November Princess too. I chose the serene Princess Ilyse and flipped the sketch on it's side. Then I concentrated on creating a scene for Ilyse to live in. I decided it would be fun to create a 'tower' using a Sizzix brick embossing folder and some grey cardstock that I then inked with some Pumice Stone Distress ink for added dimension. And yes, I do realize that I've got yet another yellow and grey combo going on here but what else was I going to do when working with a stone tower? I couldn't fight it. ;)

Alrighty, so tomorrow Sammi is joining Nancy, Marion,and myself when we will be kicking off the February release previews! You won't want to miss the Sweet November sneak peek week!

See ya then!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Basic Grey (Lily Kate), My Mind's Eye (Stella & Rose)
stamps- Sweet November (Princess Ilyse), Verve (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Tim Holtz distress pumice stone, Colorbox creamy brown
Sizzix embossing folder
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
Martha Stewart butterfly punch
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, e11, R00, R20, R85, YG00
eyes- G46
hair- E30, E31, E34, E35
clothes- RV000, RV10, RV11, R83, R85, YR30, Y11, Y32, Y21, Y26, Y28, Y13, E50, E51, 0

So tweet

Hellooooo Saturday, LOL!

So any big plans for the weekend? I've got things to do and people to see and it's all good. I'm happy to say that my week is ending on a much better note than it started. A small part of that is the happy mail that my awesome mail lady brought yesterday... my pre-order of the 12 new Copic colors are here, yeah! I'm a total marker geek because I couldn't wait to print out a new color chart and get it all filled in so that it would be ready the next time I sat down to work on an image. Even geekier... I've already started putting together a wish list of the next colors I would love to see Copic come out with. I know, it's terrible! What can I say, I'm slightly obsessed! :)

Ok, ok, on to my card... I couldn't resist printing out another of the super cute new Wryn digi stamps from Tiddly Inks. This one is Wryn and wren too tweet and boy are they ever! I was actually organizing and putting paper away when I came across this scrap of October Afternoon that I had used on a previous card last month and as soon as I saw it knew what this card's 'story' would be. Wryn is a cute little farm girl who is out watching the chicks hatch on an early spring day. And I even found this cluster of eggs stamp in an old Verve Easter set that was the perfect accent, though I did create the cracked egg by altering the largest egg and cutting it apart. Wryn's dress is paper pieced with that fab grey plaid... I know, more grey and yellow, but it's so pretty and I'm embracing the trend! ;)

Alrighty, well thanks for dropping by and take it easy my friends. Tomorrow I've got a brand new SN Spotlight to share with you which will be kicking off February previews at ATS... exciting! Hope to see ya then!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- October Afternoon (Farmhouse)
digital stamp- Tiddly Inks (Wryn and wren too tweet)
stamps- Verve (Chocolate Bunnies eggs), Imaginisce (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
buttons
Divine Twine
American Crafts Knock Outs border punch
Copic black multiliner 0.1
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E50, E51, E53, Y11, Y21
clothes/chick/eggs- G00, BG72, BG78, W00, W2, W4, W5, Y11, Y35, Y38, YR24, E40, 0

Hugs & kisses

Hello friends!

Well, this is my final challenge and project as an Oddie... boy have these past six months just flown by! I had a great time though and will still be anxious to see what Kristy has in store for all of us SOG fans in the future. :)

There are some big changes occurring at the Some Odd Girl blog and the first is that it will be going to a monthly format in order to offer bigger and better prizes. Normally new challenges will kick off on the first of each month but this one will be a bit different as it started yesterday and will run through February 28th at midnight EST with the winner announced on February 29th (leap year)! Along with that you will now be required to use a SOG image (clear stamp, digi stamp or sentiment). And finally the challenges will now alternate between a color inspiration, like this one, and a sketch every other month.

To kick off the new challenge format we wanted to offer a fun and bright color challenge this time... the reds and teals found in the photo are truly delish! So the challenge is simple, use these colors as inspiration for your creation. If you don’t have those exactly, come as close as you can, we’re not that picky!

For my card, I used the Heartsy Mae digi and flipped the image so that she faced the opposite direction. Then I just dug through my red and teal paper scraps until I found a fun mix that would work well with Mae. They all ended up being from various October Afternoon lines so this card turned out kinda vintage pretty, which was perfect for another Valentine. :)

So I hope you'll join the fun and play along... the prize this go round are Foxy and Pinwheel Panda, talk about cuteness!

Good luck! :)

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill, We R Memory keepers stitched and Copic X-Press It
paper/label sticker- October Afternoon (Sidewalks, Schoolhouse, Thrift shop)
digital stamp- Some Odd Girl (Heartsy Mae)
stamp- Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Fiskars border punch
Prima flowers
buttons
ribbon
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
eyes- E31, E34, E29
hair- E15, E07, E19, E18
clothes- E81, 0, R24, R29, E19, BG10, BG11, BG34, N5, N7, N9

Bright and colorful

Hiya sweeties!

Do you want to hear something kind of cool? I was in my dashboard getting ready to start this post and noticed that there were 999 posts here at A thousand sheets of paper... making this post number 1000! And 1000 posts means at least 1000 cards made... how wild is that?! It sure wasn't something that I was keeping track of or watching for but I gotta say that I'm glad I noticed this milestone before it passed... it just puts a smile on my face. :)

So, my 1000th post is for a brand new challenge over on the Tickled Pink challenge blog! This week we want to see you create bright and colorful cards. So don't be shy when choosing your papers and embellishments... the bolder the better! Just be sure to use a Tickled Pink cutie somewhere on your card or creation.

Surprise, surprise that I was right in the zone with this one. Hey, it's no secret that I love color! And because I've been wanting to transform the new Artemis Lylah into a cupid it was another Valentine's card for me. Luckily I had these new Sweet Cakes Valentine papers to pair up with her because nobody does bright and colorful quite like Doodlebug does. This gave me liberty to go bright and bold with her coloring as well... which includes Carisa's fun red hair combo. :)

Ok, now it's time for you to get creative, check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the design team girls and play along with us this week. There is a free digi of your choice up for grabs and the winner is now selected by random generator!
Don't forget that your card must feature a Tickled Pink stamp in order to qualify for the prize... these include: Lil Lolitas and Lads, Pinkettes, Pink Pets and Cherries. All of which can be found in the Tickled Pink store.

Good luck everybody!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper/border sticker- Doodlebug (Sweet Cakes)
stamps- Tickled Pink (Lil Greek Goddess Artemis Lylah), Studio G (sentiment and arrow)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Prima flowers and gems
Doodlebug twine
Sharpie white marker
Copic Spica glitter pens
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
eyes- YG25, G07, G29, C6
hair- YR04, YR07, YR09, R29
clothes- RV00, RV02, RV04, RV55, R24, R27, R29, E31, E34, E55, Y21, Y26, Y28, Y13, G20, 0

Mid-week reboot

Olo!

So after a couple of not-so-great days I'm thinking that I need to refresh and regroup so that this week isn't a total bust. That is my goal for the day... along with a small list of other things, but definitely the most important one. :)

Ok, so I had started coloring up miss Poppy here a couple weeks ago for a video request that I had and it was about time that I got her onto a card. I used more Basic Grey Picadilly papers on this one... LOVE them and I'm so glad that I'm finally putting them to use. They were released at a weird time, just before the holidays started rolling around so I was already heavy into Halloween and Christmas cards thus making it so I had to set them aside for a later date. They are so delicate and feminine, without relying on lots of pink and now I am finding them to be a perfectly pretty pick me up to the cold and grey weather that we are experiencing here too.

Well, I should really go get busy. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Later gators!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Basic Grey (Picadilly, Nook & Pantry)
digi stamp- Tiddly Inks (Poppy)
stamp- Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento rich cocoa and Colorbox creamy brown
Martha Stewart border punch and butterfly punches
Kaiser Craft pearl and flower
twine
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E21, E33, E37, E29
clothes/flowers- Y35, Y38, YR04, YR18, E40, E41, 0, G00, G12, BG32, BG34, YG01, YG03, G07, YG67

It's a party

Good morning!

Raise your hand if you're glad to see Monday done and over with... me, me, me! The week can only get better from here. At least that's what I'm hoping anyway.

Anywho... it's review preview time over on the ATS blog once again. I wanted to play with the new Sweet November Birthday Fairwees again and Daphne ended up floating on to today's card. These little gals are not only cute but quick to color which sometimes is exactly what I need. Sure, I love to color but there just isn't always the time that some of the more involved images require. That's where the Fairwees come in to play. :)
I put the rest of the card together quickly too, with the help of this new Jenni Bowlin border punch... doesn't it look like party banners when cut like that? Simple, simple, simple. Now there are even more review preview inspirations to be found from my fellow team mates here and all of the new January stamps can be found in the ATS store.

Alrighty, I've really got to get a move on so I'll see ya in 24! :)
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- October Afternoon (gingham), The Girls' Paperie (Jubilee)
stamps- Sweet November (Daphne's Balloons), Technique Tuesday (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Fiskars/Jenni Bowlin jester border punch
Divine Twine
Kaiser Craft gems
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R20
hair- E23, E57, E59
clothes- RV11, RV32, RV34, YG01, YG03, YG93, RV14, B0000
balloons- Y38, YR04, YR18, B00, B01, B04